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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25822669">This Isn’t About Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAHumanMachine/pseuds/JustAHumanMachine'>JustAHumanMachine</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, based on a prompt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:07:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>939</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25822669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAHumanMachine/pseuds/JustAHumanMachine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(An entry for the Dark Lord Grandpa challenge I decided to repost here.)</p><p>The hero has travelled for hundreds of miles, fought off armies, saved thousands of lives as he rallied the masses behind him to take down the evil emperor.</p><p>And now, just a sword swing away from completing his goal, the hero finds a new obstacle: A little girl who wants to know why her grandpa has to die.</p>
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</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This Isn’t About Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"What, can't think of anything to say?" The emperor chuckled. "A hero should be more certain of their goals."</p><p>In truth, I could think of a lot of things to say. "Your grandpa is a mass murderer." "How many grandfathers have you killed?" "Eh, you're old enough to have a granddaughter, you were gonna die soon anyway."</p><p>But I just stood there, staring at the teary eyed child, unable to summon any words to my mouth. I could explain morals and the greater good and what he had done until the end of time. The child would just see me murdering her grandfather.</p><p>I wanted to believe it was a trick. I wanted to think the child was an actor or an illusion, that this kid wasn't real and didn't care for the emperor.</p><p>A sudden grip on my leg jolted me from my thoughts. I jumped and tried to get free, thinking some trap had been sprung. Then I saw the girl, holding my leg in an iron grip.</p><p>She looked up at me, tears running down her face, and said in a choked voice, "P-please, s-sir, don't h-hurt my grandpa! I d-don't w-want-"</p><p>The girl then buried her face in my leg, her voice reduced to blubbering sobs.</p><p>I froze. I could deal with dragons, or zombies, or an army of robots any day of the week. A crying child was an entirely different problem.</p><p>"Look, little girl," I said, trying to pry my leg loose, "your grandfather-"</p><p>I stopped. The emperor's stare had changed. It was only for a second, before he put up a mask of smug bravado, and was so subtle it was easier to mistrust my eyes. But I couldn't forget that expression, that mix of anger and fear, the face I had seen a thousand times on friends in the heat of battle, the face that had flashed across the emperor's face when I reached toward his granddaughter.</p><p>I don't know why anger started to rise in me. No, it wasn't anger. Anger had been what carried me into the throne room of an emperor with nothing but a sword and an iron chain. This was frustration. Frustration at being not five feet from his enemy, frustration at being a single swing of the sword from freeing everyone, frustration at a single child standing between me and avenging a million men on this monster.</p><p>I didn't understand this infuriation. There was literally nothing stopping me from killing him - nothing but the tears of a child. And that was when it hit me. That was when I realized why I wanted to do the deed my conscience held me from.</p><p>I wanted to think he needed to die. I wanted to think I would be doing the world a favor by killing him then and there.</p><p>I didn't want to think he could be good.</p><p>"What happens if I let you live?" I asked. "You'll just go back to murder and conquest. Nothing will change."</p><p>Deep down, I knew this. A single virtue couldn't wash all the blood off his hands. This little girl was keeping me from killing him, but wasn't keeping him from killing millions.</p><p>I pulled out my sword.</p><p>"Oh, please," the emperor said as I stalked toward him. "You wouldn't kill-"</p><p>I kicked him to the floor, which quickly shut him up. Without a word, I swung at his neck.</p><p>Then I saw the child. I could see her grandfather's part in her, but I saw something else in her terrified face, something much more childish. Something that reminded me too much of my younger self.</p><p>I remembered my own parents. They wouldn't want a murderer for a child. Even if the victim really had it coming. Even if he was the reason they were dead. I had promised them - I had promised myself - I wouldn't leave any innocents, any children, to bear that burden of grief.</p><p>I didn't want this girl to turn into me.</p><p>Which is why, after all these thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant, I found I had stopped the blade an inch from the emperor's neck.</p><p>Half in a daze, I took the chain I carried and wrapped it around his wrists. I couldn't believe myself, honestly, I had come this far to see him dead at my feet.</p><p>I pulled the emperor to his feet, cursing my own weakness. "Move it, you old royal dickweed. Why did you have to reproduce? It makes my job much harder."</p><p>Something tugged at my shirt. "Sir, what're you going to do with my grandpa?" A nervous voice asked.</p><p>I turned to the child. "Look, little girl-"</p><p>"My name's Katie."</p><p>I paused. "Katie. Your grandfather has been a very bad man and committed all the treasons, so I'm taking him back to our base so he can't hurt anyone."</p><p>A spark of hope came into the child's eyes. "You're not gonna hurt him?"</p><p>I shook my head. "Grandpa said you were gonna kill him!"</p><p>"I can't."</p><p>"Why? Do you have a curse or something?"</p><p>I glanced at the oddly morbid child. "You'll understand when you're older." I grabbed the chain and drug my prisoner away. "Come on. You can keep your grandfather company."</p><p>The emperor laughed. "I knew you didn't have a killer in you. Do you really think you can redeem me?"</p><p>I looked at him, then at the child that walked beside him, relief and admiration in her eyes. "This isn't about you. You're out of power now. You can't hurt anyone."</p><p>I couldn't hurt anyone either. I was still surprised about that.</p>
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